Pokémon TCG Pocket earns $1.3 billion in its first year, out-earning Pokémon GO in the same timeframe

Just over one year ago today was the launch of The Pokémon Company’s latest mobile game, Pokémon TCG Pocket. With a year under its belt, and thanks to data and reporting from PocketGamer.biz, we now have a sense of the mobile game’s success. Remember how huge and impactful Pokémon GO was when it launched in the summer of 2016? Turns out TCG Pocket earned even more money for the world’s most profitable media franchise. Within its first year, Pokémon GO earned $1 billion. But TCG Pocket, in its first year, earned nearly $1.3 billion.

Digital trading card game Pokémon TCG Pocket reportedly earns $1.3 billion in its first year

On some level, this does feel somewhat shocking. It was a little easier to gauge the popularity of Pokémon GO when you could see the crowds of people crossing the street to go catch a Dragonite. But the more I think about it, the more sense it starts to make. Pokémon TCG Pocket arrived just as the world was going through its obsession with real Pokémon trading cards. I couldn’t browse Pokémon pages on Reddit without seeing dozens of posts about people arriving at stores to see that the Pokémon trading card section was already cleared out. Pokémon TCG Pocket provided the perfect alternative.

Just a few days ago, TCG Pocket introduced a brand-new pack featuring Mega Evolved Pokémon just a few weeks after they returned to the video games in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which also appears to have been a major success for Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. If you are a fan of the series, you may have noticed that there has been a long gap between mainline Pokémon video games. By the time Legends: Z-A was released, Scarlet and Violet were nearly three years old. There were some small DLC expansions, but TCG Pocket was the biggest Pokémon video game release for nearly the whole year it was available. It may have drawn more of Pokémon’s huge audience than it would have if there were more alternatives.

Another notable factor in earning this much could be TCG Pocket’s subscription service. There is no requirement to spend money on this game; players can make single purchases for special event items or packs, or pay a monthly fee to open 3 packs per day instead of 2. While individual purchases may come and go depending on the offerings, having this steady stream of income is something Pokémon GO did not have, and could have been at least part of what gave TCG Pocket its financial edge in this first year.

Mega Rising, which is the booster pack that introduced Mega Evolution into TCG Pocket, is the 14th booster added to the mobile game, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Pokémon GO will be celebrating its 10th anniversary next year, so unless anything changes, we could easily be in for another decade of Pokémon TCG Pocket too. Next year is exciting for more than just the Pokémon GO anniversary, though. It also marks the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon games, which were originally released in 1996. The Pokémon Company is expected to pull out all the stops next year.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket

October 30, 2024

Rate It!

• Overview

• Pokemon (franchise)
• mobile games
• Pokemon Trading Card Game
• The Pokemon Company